Euro spot ‘so vital for Villa’

SKIPPER Olof Mellberg believes qualifying for Europe can help Aston Villa hold onto their top players – and attract new blood to the club in the summer.

David O'Leary has constantly played down talk of winning a UEFA Cup spot but Villa's 2-0 home win over Leeds pushed them up to eighth in the Premiership and within touching distance of that goal.

Leading scorer Juan Pablo Angel, who scored his 17th goal of the season against Eddie Gray's side, has already admitted he wants to see how much ambition Villa have before opening talks over a new contract.